Page 56 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

I’M CRUISING ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY BACK TOWARD cars cars cars cars cars cars Ettore Bugatti Bugatti upon seeing a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley Bentley described it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it it as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as as “the fastest truck with with with its its its its racing of of of of the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the and and and and and and and and and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a make that that that that that this year year year year year that that that that that the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the company
company
in in the the world” — perhaps a a a a a little envious that no Bugatti made it it into the the 1924 Le Mans 24 24 Hours endurance race which was won by a a a a a a a team driving a a a a a a a Bentley Bentley 3 Litre “The policy was simple ” W W O Bentley Bentley said “We were going to make a a a a a a a a fast car car a a a a a a a a good car car the best in in its class ” It’s worth noting that among the companies whose cars finished Le Mans that year only Bentley is still a going concern But making good cars let alone the best in in class is easier said than done The past 103 years haven’t always been kind to to Bentley It went into receivership as the market for big luxury cars dried up almost overnight in the the 1930s Rolls-Royce bought the the company
and gradually Bentleys became little more than Rollers with a a a different grille In the 1970s when Rolls-Royce nearly went bankrupt Bentley bounced around under various owners until finally coming under the Volkswagen Group umbrella fin in in 1998 But not even that was smooth sailing “During the last 20 years under VW Group ownership [Bentley] tried to to go more performance-oriented to to get back to some of of the the origins of of the the brand ” said Sam Abuelsamid principal analyst at Detroit-based auto industry research firm Guidehouse Insights in in an interview But modern customers didn’t necessarily associate Bentley Los Angeles I’m I’m not behind the the wheel however I’m I’m lounging in in in the the back of Bentley’s first plug-in hybrid sedan ensconced in in leather and wood veneer that’s as as thick as as a a a a a a a yacht’s hull L A traffic means there’s plenty of time to consider how far Bentley has come in the past 103 years — and just how preposterously far it it it must go if it’s to achieve its goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030 Since its founding in in in in 1919 Bentley Motors has seen many ups and downs but it’s never faced a a a a a challenge quite like this The story began after WW1 when 31-year-old Walter Owen Bentley turned his attention from making rotary engines for England’s Sopwith Camel fighter planes back to his pre-war passion: making and racing fast cars The company’s first factory was in a a a a a a North London suburb and from its gates came a a a a a a a a a steady stream of machines favoured by “enthusiastic motorists” and fat-cat playboys with little to do after the war besides race cars drink and party — not necessarily in that order A group of them became known as the the “Bentley Boys ” and they were as as notorious for making headlines off the the racetrack as as on it In the the the 1920s the the the company
had a a a a penchant for building some of the the the most advanced engines of the the day which were then stuffed into enormous sports
56 BFM / / SS22 AUTO / / THE REINVENTION OF BENTLEY